This invention deals generally with children's strollers and more specifically with a stroller that folds compactly and is very stable when folded and standing upright.
Currently many strollers stand when they are in a folded position, but many are unstable or awkward to fold. Some require the user to fold the stroller to the ground and then bend over and pick it up to place it in a vertical orientation to make it stand. This is inconvenient due to the fact that the user must bend over and pick up the weight of the stroller. Still others require the stroller to stand on the rear wheels and some other frame component, usually the basket tube, and during the folding process the stroller must be controlled with two hands in order to keep it balanced over the rear wheels. In many cases the footprint of the standing stroller is so small that it makes the stroller somewhat unstable and easy to knock over.
It is always desirable to have the stroller fold to the smallest folded size possible so that it does not take up extra space when stored and to make it more convenient to put in and take out of vehicles. Typically, the handle and the canopy frame are the areas that contribute most to the overall folded size in the longest dimension. In such configurations the handle controls the overall folded size, but the canopy frame is the second largest component. It is common to have the stroller handle adjustable in height to accommodate users of different heights. It is also common for there to be a folding mechanism that allows the handle and the upper part of handle tube to rotate in a range of approximately 180 degrees so that the handle can be placed in a storage position thereby reducing the overall size of the folded stroller. This typically leaves the canopy frame as the highest point of the folded stroller which leaves it vulnerable to damage, and is the major factor in the overall folded size.
Many strollers also have a storage area above the canopy and below the handle for use by the person pushing the stroller. Typically, this storage area is a molded rigid tray that includes a cup holder and storage compartments with or without lids. The problem with such storage areas is that they are a pre-designed and unchangeable structure. Nothing is available to serve as simple a purpose as moving the cup holder to a location convenient for a left handed person.
It would be very beneficial to have a stroller that not only keeps the front and rear wheels on the ground while being folded, but is also very stable when standing, has a shorter folded height than is presently available, and includes a storage area just below the handle that can be rearranged for the user's convenience.